Anyone drive straight from Michigan?

[JJIRmom]

We're thinking of doing the crazy & driving from Michigan with no hotel stops. I hate driving in lots of traffic so I prefer to do nighttime driving so getting a hotel wouldn't make a ton of sense since most have checkouts at 11 AM. We are thinking of doing 4 hour driving shifts so the other can get 4 hour of sleep (just my Dh & I driving w/ 2 little ones in tow). Wanting to leave Michigan around 3 PM & arriving Disney the next morning at 11. Its an 18 hour drive & that gives us an extra 2 hours for bathroom breaks. Has anyone also attempted such a long drive with no hotels & did you completely regret it?!?

 

[kydisneyfans]

That would have to be absolutely perfect conditions to get to Disney from Michigan in 18 hours. I live right off I75 5 hours south of Detroit in KY and the best time we've ever made is 14 hours, with 15-16 being the norm.

The I-75 bridge over the Ohio River is down to 2 lanes currently. Backups have been significant. There is major construction on I75 south of Lexington, KY that has caused travel headaches.

You will not make the drive with 2 kids in 18 hours.

EDIT: Just saw the 18+2. That is more realistic.
On the flip side, you will be so worn out the first day will be a waste. Not sure if you are staying at a Disney hotel, but you may not get your room until 4:00 PM or after. Arriving worn out with no room isn't optimal.

 

[kristenrice]

How "little" are your kids? Do they sleep well in the car? Assuming 20 hours of total travel time with 18 hours of drive time is not realistic. You will need to stop at least 3 times for gas and, assuming you consolidate and grab a snack and potty break at the gas station, you are looking at a minimum of a 20 minute delay for each stop. That is at least an hour right there and that is for the bare minimum. That does not take into account any traffic delays. There may not be many cars on the road, but there could be construction or accidents which could cause delays.

I think your plan is doable, but leaving at 3 and arriving at 11 is unrealistic. I would say 1pm is a more likely goal. Plan on being completely exhausted with kids in the same condition so take the first day to just chill out.

Personally, I wouldn't do it, but you know yourself and your family the best. DH and I work 12-hour shifts in vehicles so a long drive is no big deal to us, but we also know how exhausting it is to sit in a vehicle for hours at a time. After spending 24 hours straight on the road, you will be completely exhausted. I don't think that it is the best way to start a Disney vacation. The first time we drove down from Michigan, our girls were 4 and 6. We spread it out. We left in the afternoon and drove until about 9pm and got a hotel , let the kids swim and had a nice meal. The next day, we got up early and spent the day on the road, driving until about 10pm. We made plenty of stops and didn't rush anything. We ended up about 2 hours north of Orlando by the end of the day. We stayed one more night in a hotel and got a good night of sleep. Then, in the morning, we had a nice easy drive to WDW and arrived before noon, well-rested and ready to hit the park.

 

[LadyBeBop]

What part of Michigan are you coming from?

That would have to be absolutely perfect conditions to get to Disney from Michigan in 18 hours. I live right off I75 5 hours south of Detroit in KY and the best time we've ever made is 14 hours, with 15-16 being the norm.

Sounds about right. I'm north of you in Erlanger, KY. 15-16 hours sounds normal.

The I-75 bridge over the Ohio River is down to 2 lanes currently. Backups have been significant.

And then some. But if you leave at 3 PM, you'll make Cincinnati about 9. Taking good alternate routes, you'll lose little time.

There is major construction on I75 south of Lexington, KY that has caused travel headaches.

Where abouts? We leave Saturday for the Smokies, and we want to know if we will hit any major trouble spots. Although I known they've been trying to make I-75 three lanes throughout KY for years.

You will not make the drive with 2 kids in 18 hours.

EDIT: Just saw the 18+2. That is more realistic.

Not much more realistic. You'll probably have to stop every three hours for at least 20 minutes. OK, that's the additional two hours. But don't you want to sit down at a Cracker Barrel or someplace similar and just chill for an hour?

I'd say allow at least three hours.

We've done Northern KY to Orlando in a day. Left at 1:30 AM, got there about 5. Long day, but it wasn't a Disney trip, and we slept for 12 hours that night.

If I were you, I'd leave earlier and get as far as maybe Knoxville or Chattanooga. Leave early the following day and get to Disney early or mid-afternoon.

If that's impossible, stop at maybe Lexington. Get six hours of good sleep. Wake up, leave and get to Disney late afternoon or early evening.

Good luck.

 

[JJIRmom]

I'm coming from the Flint area about 45 minutes north of Detroit. We do have quite a bit of wiggle room if we don't arrive at 11. We have dinner reservations that night at chef mickeys at 6, before that we wanted to take it easy possibly go to a water park & relax on the lazy river & do early check-in at our hotel so we can get a quick nap before chef Mickey.
My kids are 6 & 3 I'm counting on them sleeping in the car from about 9 pm to 8 am. Im packing all sorts of goodies for them to do while they're awake (coloring, drawing my son LOVES to draw, new movies, sticker books, puzzle books) I'm planning on packing a cooler full of sandwiches snacks & drinks so we don't have to stop for food. Cereal & juices for breakfast at a rest stop.

 

[JJIRmom]

I should also say what we have done in the past is drive the 12 hours to Atlanta & stay with relatives for a couple days then leave early around 6 am & get to Disney 3ish. Unfortunately staying with relatives isn't an option this time that's why we are considering driving straight.

 

[mom2rtk]

Are you prepared for the possibility that you might arrive with you and 2 young kids well rested and you and your husband bone tired in need of sleep at the same time?

 

[kydisneyfans]

What part of Michigan are you coming from?



Sounds about right. I'm north of you in Erlanger, KY. 15-16 hours sounds normal.



And then some. But if you leave at 3 PM, you'll make Cincinnati about 9. Taking good alternate routes, you'll lose little time.



Where abouts? We leave Saturday for the Smokies, and we want to know if we will hit any major trouble spots. Although I known they've been trying to make I-75 three lanes throughout KY for years.



Not much more realistic. You'll probably have to stop every three hours for at least 20 minutes. OK, that's the additional two hours. But don't you want to sit down at a Cracker Barrel or someplace similar and just chill for an hour?

I'd say allow at least three hours.

We've done Northern KY to Orlando in a day. Left at 1:30 AM, got there about 5. Long day, but it wasn't a Disney trip, and we slept for 12 hours that night.

If I were you, I'd leave earlier and get as far as maybe Knoxville or Chattanooga. Leave early the following day and get to Disney early or mid-afternoon.

If that's impossible, stop at maybe Lexington. Get six hours of good sleep. Wake up, leave and get to Disney late afternoon or early evening.

Good luck.

They are 3 laning from roughly mm 69 to around 58-59. Our last trip through there was a delay of an hour and 20 minutes. That was midday on a Saturday.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I would strongly consider leaving a bit early and doing a 6-7 hour overnight somewhere in Chattanooga or north Atlanta. There is no way that after 20 hours straight on the road that anyone is going to enjoy Chef Mickey's and/or a waterpark.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm in Michigan and I would never ever do a non stop drive. First off, it is just not safe. Especially if you plan on having one adult sleep while one drives. I've been in the car in the middle of the night where the driver swore they were fine, and almost crashed us. Second, even if you do it, you will all be exhausted when you arrive. Third, you have no way of knowing if you will get a room right when you arrive or not. You could easily arrive and be told your room isn't ready. What will you do then? Having a tired family and no good place to nap would be a disaster.

Stop once. Get a few good hours sleep in a bed. You will arrive not crazy tired and be ready to enjoy your vacation. And it will be much safer for you and everyone else on the road.

 

[maxiesmom]

I should also say what we have done in the past is drive the 12 hours to Atlanta & stay with relatives for a couple days then leave early around 6 am & get to Disney 3ish. Unfortunately staying with relatives isn't an option this time that's why we are considering driving straight.

Get one of those booklettes they have at the rest stops and find a cheap place crash for a few hours.

 

[JJIRmom]

I'm going to have to rethink our plan. I really do much prefer nighttime driving. Like it from about 10 pm till 6 am...no traffic so construction isn't an issue...also I'm just a nervous wreck in a lot of traffic. So I will need to figure out how the majority of our driving is at night but so we don't arrive exhausted. Maybe we could drive until 5-6 am get a hotel & sleep until checkout at 11 then drive the rest to Disney. That way we would have at least 5 hours rest. I might have to change what time we leave Michigan but it doesn't have to be at 3. I would like to arrive at Disney in the afternoon at the latest so we could do waterpark before dinner. Trying to schedule this is making my head spin haha.

 

[maxiesmom]

To be honest I think doing a waterpark on arrival day, especially when you have an ADR planned for later, is a horrible idea. You will be tired to begin with, no question. Then you want to spend time at a waterpark, which will make you that much tired. I don't think at that point anyone will be in any kind of shape to enjoy Chef Mickeys.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We drive from Ohio (SE) and it takes us about 15 hours to drive it. We prefer to leave around 3:00 or so in the afternoon and drive through the night, arriving at Disney is the morning. However, my husband is used to working 24-hour shifts (EMS) and being up at night to drive doesn't bother him.

 

[JJIRmom]

Maybe I am trying to pack in too much on arrival. In the past on arrival day we usually do nothing, just eat in the food court at our hotel & walk the grounds. Which is why this year Im anxious to actually get out and do stuff! But I was kind of thinking the water would be relaxing. I was thinking the lazy river, nothing more relaxing than that. Also just letting the kids run around in the kid zone. I think I may mess around with our driving/traveling times so we could get a few hours at a hotel that way we're not dead exhausted when we do arrive.

 

[LadyBeBop]

They are 3 laning from roughly mm 69 to around 58-59. Our last trip through there was a delay of an hour and 20 minutes. That was midday on a Saturday.

AUGH!!! And we plan to drive through it...midday this Saturday. 4th of July weekend.

I'll just check Waze and possibly duck out around Berea. Right now, I checked Waze, and it's all clear.

 

[kydisneyfans]

AUGH!!! And we plan to drive through it...midday this Saturday. 4th of July weekend.

I'll just check Waze and possibly duck out around Berea. Right now, I checked Waze, and it's all clear.

Perfect idea. 25 from Berea to Mt Vernon. The worst backups seem to be Friday nights and Sundays. The weekend we drove it was 2 lanes down to 1. I would highly doubt they would have it 1 lane this weekend.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I agree with not driving for 20 plus hours. Between safety and the fact that your first two days of vacation you will be tired and out of whack it sounds like a bad idea.

Leave at 11 am and have your husband drive until 7. You can drive until midnight. That lets you drive at night. Your husband can drive the last few hours in the am. Or better yet, fly.

 

[JJIRmom]

I agree with not driving for 20 plus hours. Between safety and the fact that your first two days of vacation you will be tired and out of whack it sounds like a bad idea.

Leave at 11 am and have your husband drive until 7. You can drive until midnight. That lets you drive at night. Your husband can drive the last few hours in the am. Or better yet, fly.

Wish we could fly but driving is a little more in our price range haha! I'm now thinking drive noon to 1 am. That should take us a bit south of Atlanta. Grab a hotel until 7 am gets us 6 hours of sleep. Then finish up the last bit which should be around 7 hours.

 

[bianca]

Your final plan of making it past Atlanta is a step in the right direction. We drive from the Detroit burbs and have done the trip at least 40 times. Do NOT try to drive straight through. Over the years we've seen way too many accidents because someone fell asleep at the wheel.

To address your plans for the first day, I can't even imagine relaxing at a water park with a 6 yo, let alone a 3 yo. Are you trying to make the Orlando evening news? Not a good plan. It takes 2 adults that are very present to watch kids that little in any Disney water area. I don't think you'd qualify after all that driving. Just relax at your hotel and plan for more in Day 2.